Peggy Sue Dunigan

Peggy Sue Dunigan earned a BA in Fine Art, a MA in English and then finished with a Masters of Fine Art in Creative Fiction from Pine Manor College, Massachusetts. Currently she independently writes for multiple publications on the culinary, performance and visual arts or works on her own writing projects while also teaching college English and Research Writing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her other creative energy emerges by baking cakes and provincial sweets from vintage recipes so when in the kitchen, at her desk, either drawing or writing, or enjoying evenings at any and all theaters, she strives to provide satisfying memories for the body and soul.

Guys and Dolls, a charming musical opening a half century ago on Broadway in1951, reminisces New York's hidden society-gamblers, exotic dancers and 'sinners'-along with the missionaries who tried to redeem them. A story based on a series of short stories by Damon Runyon, Jo Sweeney and Abe Burrows created the book together with Frank Loesser's mesmerizing melodies and lyrics that brings the tale of two determined young women, Adelaide and Sarah, to life. The musical was eventually denied a Pulitzer Prize because one of the producers was blacklisted, and this retells another fascinating story in itself.

On stage the past weekend, Minneapolis's Guthrie Theater opened a production of of the iconic musical West Side Story in the Wurtlele Thrust Stage. The following Tuesday, June 26, the United States Supreme Courtupheld the country's travel ban for seven countries, mainly located in the Middle East, on strict rules governing their admittance to the U.S. On Thursday, another shooting happened near Annapolis, Maryland, killingfive people when a gunman opened fire through a glass door at a small newspaper office. Ina powerful scene during this opening ofWest Side Story, the character ofDoc addresses one of the two rival gangs named the Jets when they host a war council in his drug store: Why do you live like there's a war on? Why do you kill?'

Housed on Main Street in Hopkins, Minnesota, Stages Theatre Company (STC) persevered for almost 35 years by producing exceptional, professional theater for young audiences. Believing in the enchantment, imagesand power of theater, especially for youth, the company produces world premiere productions commissioned especially for their home stage.

Spring's rebirth in March invites magical thoughts of budding romance. A beloved multi-award winning musical rom-com, She Loves Me, sings in the sunny emotions and weather at Anoka's Lyric Arts. The playful musical first ran on Broadway in 1963, and was translated from Miklos Laszlo's 1937 play "Parfumerie." Joe Masteroff's book partnered with music composed by Jerry Bock together with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, capture the perfect notes to a tangled romance between two store clerks, Amalia and Georg, in 1934 Budapest. The two clash on the small boutique's floor while unknowingly sending each other letters to 'Dear Friend (Yes, they used real snail mail).

Once again, Anoka's Lyric Arts presents an area premiere for their audiences. This winter, Superior Donuts, a 2008 play written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tracy Letts, arrived for opening weekend. Letts, an ensemble actor at Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre, has recently been in the news for his role in Greta Gertwig's film, 'Lady Bird,' with another Steppenwolf actor, Laurie Metcalf, and newcomer Saoirse Ronan. To learn a bit about Letts, his sense of humor, and his award winning theatrical career, viewing his comedy Superior Donuts provides one perfect place to begin.

For the 2017 season, enjoy the sights and sounds to Have a yule that's cool at Anoka's Lyric Arts. The retro greeting tag line recreates the theater's holiday show titled Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings. Stuart Ross wrote the clever, lighthearted book to this festive musical in 1989, along with numerous composers creating the music and lyrics. The seasonal show delights audiences this December under Director Sean W. Byrd through a kitschy ambiance. Musical Director Bradley Beahen together with Choreographer Lauri Kraft give this all male quartet excellent stage presence for two acts. The four 'lads' who call themselves Forever Plaid deliver the holiday goods while Beahen accompanies on the ivories with Shannon Van der Reck plucking strings on bass,

On stage at Anoka's Lyric Arts, A Coney Island Christmas presents a child's heartfelt dreams to its audiences for the holiday season. One of two theatrical presentations alternating at the venue in December, this play features a flashback to 1930's New York, in the midst of the Great Depression, where Jewish Hanukah meets the Christian Christmas in warm nostalgia.

Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street arrived at the Skylight Music Theatre last weekend to dazzle audiences with the American songwriter's brilliant, exquisite lyrics and melodies complimented by Hugh Wheeler's book. A story resurrected from an old three penny publication titled 'String of Pearls' adapted from a 1976 Christopher Bond play retells dark, almost demonic yet ultimately redemptive tale revealing the horrors of revenge and the power of love through this award winning musical with songs such as "Johanna," "Pretty Women," and "By the Sea."

How curious and curiouser an English children's fantasy written in 1865 for three sisters has been translated into 174 languages and never been out of print since, never once. Lewis Carroll's surreal tale 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,' usually shortened to 'Alice in Wonderland,' appears on stage at the Marcus Center for the Performing Artswhen Artistic Director Michael Pink and Milwaukee Ballet present their version of Alice in Wonderland, which first premiered at the Washington Ballet in 2012, With this immense production of Alice, MKE Ballet Costume Manager Mary Piering completes 32 years in the company's costume shop at 5th and National to refit the more than 120 costumes for the one weekend only performances. A visit to the shop the week of rehearsals found Piering stitching on a small headpiece, putting the finishing touches on the entire cast's wardrobe.

Similar to an actual carved and decoratedcarousel, In Tandem's musical Carnival circles audiences with the sentiment'Love Makes the World Go Round.' The familiar song from the 1960's production written by Bob Merrill and Michael Stewart in their book, lyrics and music adapted from a 1950's novel titled 'Lilli' happens outside Paris, circa 1920. Carnivals and circuses played to packed audiences before World War ! and the depression, and in their enchantingstory a young orphan named Lilli travels from hr past home when her father dies to search for her future, 'where everyone knows her name,' and of course, true love.

The legendary story of Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte in 1847, arrives as artful, contemporary adaption by Polly Teale in Milwaukee Repertory Theater's season ending production atthe Quadracci Powerhouse. Director KJ Sanchez follows Teale's lead and delves deeper into the psychology between Jane and Mr. Rochester's uninhibited, possible mad wife Bertha. The two characters, through actors, Margaret Ivey (Jane) and Rin Allen (Bertha) shadow each other throughout the production. In this adaptation, Bertha appears to mirror Jane's repressed Victorian feelings thatliterally ignite their lives and English homestead, Thornfield.

In the seventh presentation of the popular Rep Lab, the short-play festival features the company's Emerging Professional Residents (EPR) in acting, directing and technical theater to showcase their talent. This year, nine one act play along with a devised play written by the Emerging Professionals appeared in the Stiemke Studio for an intriguing evening of theater. Eight actors, seven directors, and four designers comprise the EPR team. In an interesting mix of plays, many examine the angst in relationships: communal, personal and professional within a wide time frame that also embodies considerable emotional range

Violet--The color and time of day named in T.S. Eliot's 1922 epic poem The Waste Land. This color permeates Renaissance Theaterworks (RTW) season ending production figuratively and literally in the Studio Theatre titled The Violet Hour. Directed by Artistic Director Suzan Fete, the comedy infused with a surrealist happening sets a scene in 1919, a few years after World War I and before the Great Depression. The story tantalizes audiences with the question that is prophecy, knowing the future, a gift or a curse? Richard Greenberg's 2003 Broadway play explores this dilemma andmodels the period's hope and optimism after "a war to end all wars," on characters referencing Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald andchanteuse Josephine Baker. All celebrities whoreached a zenith in their careers, and then ended their lives insome despair. When the audience sits in the theater watching from the 2017 perspective, what do they make of these questions, lives and future?

In an impassioned, almost poetic adaptation of Charles Dickens' masterpiece Great Expectations, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) opened Gale Childs Daly's evocative interpretation in the Cabot Theatre last weekend. Composer Andrew Crowe, premier violinist, added an original score to haunt and mesmerize audiences sitting in the theatre as he waltzed through every scene. Daly's adaptation literally leaps off the pages of the 1861 novel, and the cast under Director Molly Rhode incorporates actual books as props for meat pies or rhythm instruments to miraculous effect each step of the way through the main character Pip's coming of age and maturation.

n an evening to honor women and their contributions to the arts, Milwaukee's Renaissance Theaterworks (RTW) announced their 25th anniversary season whileSupport Women in the Arts Now, or SWAN,on Monday, March 27, immediately after a Milwaukee weekend dedicated to women in the arts. The month and date'ssignificance mattered. Saturday, March 25 celebrated the 10th International SWAN holiday, and since the organization's inception, over 1500 SWANevents have been held in more than 36 countries. As the www.womensart.org website claims, the ultimate purpose of these SWAN events 'showcases the power and diversity of women's creativity.'

Actor Frank Ferrante begins on Milwaukee'sStackner Cabaret's stage by walking over to a small table, sitting down, and then placing the iconic thick black mustache and eyebrows definingthe indomitable comedian Groucho Marx. In the The Milwaukee Repertory Theater's superb production An Evening With Groucho written by Ferrante and directed by Dreya Weber, the transformation from actor to classic comic spirt engages the audience in a collusion of laughter and humor for all audiences.

First Stage invites a recent Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts production to Milwaukee for a Midwest premiere: Mockingbird (mok'ing burd). The National Book Award WinnerYoung Adult novel by Katherine Ersking and adapted by Julie Jensen presents the story of Caitlin-a 12 year old challenged by autism. To add to the young girl's life, Caitlin recently lost her brother Devin. This leaves only her father and she to deal with their grief and moving forward in the compelling and poignant production.

At the intimate theater in downtown Anoka, Minnesota, Lyric Arts presents an absolutely 'pee-popping' version of the 2001 Broadway hit Urinetown; The Musical. When the musical was first proposed, producers initially rejected the comic/tragic satire (A 'sad' musical as the character Little Sally names the production), yet numerous Urinetown performances captured Drama Desk and Tony Awards through 2001 and 2002. The multi-layered musical featured at Lyric Arts presents an equally multi-talented cast who can act, dance and sing, triple threats in theater, with thrilling results. Director Matt McNabb amps up the productions to a hyper realistic state, perfect for todays political scenarios into an entertaining and enlightening theatrical evening.

The Milwaukee Repertory Theater's multi-award winning play Grounded, grounds a pregnant woman fighter pilot while also grounding the audiences in the intimate Stiemke Studio's compelling and complexproduction. George Brant's contemporary 2013 play demonstrates how drones have transformed both fighter pilots and the 'games of global war' because in the 21st century,drones hover over the skies of foreign countries similar to space ships in a violent video game. Either movement controlled by one person in a solitary cubicle or sitting in front of a tiny screen. Instead of B-15 bombers that fly into the blue manned bypilots, men and women, presentlysit in front of huge screens sequestered in silence waiting and watching for any movement so drones may attack from across the world in the name of 'reducing the loss of human life.'